Climbing Mountains Somewhere In Switzerland – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

I thought of entitling this blog, “How I became a multi-millionaire?” But … :), By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet

I thought of entitling this blog, “How I became a multi-millionaire?” But thought that maybe too precocious? Then thought of a more pragmatic title, “Financial Independence? How to build a nest egg as an international expat living overseas? Frugal necessity helps!” Hmm perhaps both titles are okay seeing there is an element of truth in both headings.

Student Debt – Climbing Out of the Pit

When I first came overseas, I had just finished a Master Degree and had a mountainous student loan. My parents had helped me out with student living costs and I did a lot of side jobs along the way from camp counselor for youths with disabilities to tutoring foreign students learning English, but I still had a sizable debt of around $20,000. I didn’t even have a song to my name …

Freiburg, Germany – Near the Black Forest – Retirement Directions? – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

Sorry Sir! – No Safety Net Here?

Often there is no safety net provided by companies, or not much, when it comes to early retirement overseas … and expats are left to fend for themselves. It is a sink or swim environment.

Walk the Plank Laddie – to the Sharks I Say 🙂

Lost at sea with the sharks slamming the boat and they thought the end was near …. That was the headline that caught my attention when the story of 2 lady sailors who had been lost at sea for several months were rescued … they were safe but just barely survived on their diverted route to Fiji – they never got there.

Financial planning is often like that especially nowadays when it comes to retirement planning and investment – even while at home, not to mention the shark infested waters of retirement planning while overseas.

But what if you could circumnavigate the sharks … there is a fellow who had done just that, survived cancer and retired in his 40’s and can usually be found basking around the world in some tropical place like Mexico or beyond.